Maharaja Chattarsol of Kota Shooting Lions

The trope of a royal marksman shooting at a pair of lions drinking at a pond extended into the second half of the 1800s at the Kota court. This suggests that earlier examples of this theme were prized and remembered for generations. By the time this painting was made, artists had access to synthetic pigments that were developed in the West, and more brilliant blues and greens distinguish a work such as this from its predecessors.